Research Library

While rapid economic and population expansion in Texas cities’ can bring financial prosperity, such growth also can strain local governments’ ability to provide public services and balance budgets. In a new outlook, John W. Diamond and Joyce Beebe detail the financial positions of Houston, San Antonio, Austin, Fort Worth, and Dallas, highlighting each city’s budgetary achievements and gaps.

The U.S. health care system is grappling with a severe labor shortage, worsened by the long-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and an aging population. A new report from the Center for the U.S and Mexico offers recommendations to address the sector’s needs, including expanding visa availability, reforming occupational licensing, specializing recruitment, and streamlining the immigration process.

Matt Drwenski discusses the history of freeway planning in Houston, Texas — from its origins in the early 20th century to the completion of the city’s urban highway system.

With high entrepreneurship and startup rates, Latino immigrants are key contributors to U.S. economic development. In a new report for the Center for the U.S and Mexico, nonresident fellow Elizabeth Salamanca explains how their skills and expertise are integral to innovative startups that often evolve into binational businesses, operating in both the U.S. and Mexico.

While some scholars claim freeways were designed to adversely impact neighborhoods of color, fellow Edward M. Emmett argues this oversimplifies the issue. In this research paper, he explores the history of Houston’s freeways to uncover a range of factors at play.

Hoping to expand trade relations post-Brexit, the U.K. is forming nonbinding memorandums of understanding (MOUs) with individual U.S. states. Fellow David A. Gantz’s report navigates the complex political terrain and economic promises of these MOUs with a focus on the U.K.’s agreements with Texas and Washington.

Attempts to undermine church-state separation in Texas reached a crescendo in 2023, writes nonresident scholar David R. Brockman. In this paper, he explores how three high-profile bills introduced during the state’s 88th legislative session threatened to tear down the wall between church and state.

Electricity demand in Texas is evolving, posing major challenges for grid reliability. Center for Energy Studies experts lay out ways ERCOT, Texas’ grid operator, can enhance reliability and resource adequacy.

Introduction

Car-based transportation in the United States began in the early 20th century. Before that, the country was…

Progress on the UN’s sustainable development goals — aimed at achieving peace and prosperity for all people and the planet — has been slow. However, fellow Harris A. Eyre and his co-authors explain how applying a brain capital framework could change the trajectory.